Convergence, Security to Dominate Tech This Year

A new CompTIA Web poll shows that individuals in IT predict that convergence and information security would dominate the technology landscape this year. Convergence and security were neck-and-neck in the survey, with about 34 percent and 33 percent of the nearly 2,200 respondents selecting them for the top spot, respectively.

“There are some insights,” CompTIA President and CEO John Venator said. “It gives you an idea of where the industry feels things are going. Some of that is building, and some of it is brand new. I think it’s fascinating that the poll results are in tune with what we’re hearing from our members, and it’s in tune with what they’re hearing from their customers.”

Convergence as defined by the study includes newer technologies such as Voice-over IP and unified messaging. Incidentally, CompTIA is developing a certification in this field. “With Voice-over IP, it offers businesses and their customers a really vast array of cost-saving and productivity-enhancing benefits—anywhere from reducing toll charges and network-management expenses to advanced calling features and a more unified, flexible workforce. The fascinating thing is that people are finding sort of a secondary value in the technology’s features and functionalities themselves, which gives organizations a lot more control over their communications,” Venator said.

Although the buzz around security has cooled off a little in the past few months, Venator predicted it would continue to be one of the issues at the forefront of the industry. “The potential for serious financial harm is getting increasingly stronger. Because of the organizational impact (attacks) are having, organizations have continued to invest in security at a consistent rate over the past few years.”

Although no other items approached the numbers of respondents who rated convergence or security as the top technology to watch, areas such as radio frequency identification (RFID), virtualization and service-oriented architecture had respectable showings. “Radio frequency identification technology just kind of sprung on the industry full-blown because of the mandates from Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and the Department of Defense,” Venator said of the third-ranked technology. “If you’re in any kind of business that does anything with big-box retail—and a lot of other situations as well—you’re going to be in RFID whether you like it or not.”